SANTA ANA, Calif. – Two men were charged yesterday with kidnapping a man during a drug deal in Newport Beach and attempting to extort $130,000 from the victim’s family. Steele Malone Burnside, 28, Anaheim, and Nicholas Andres Hernandez, 29, Murrieta, are each charged with one felony count of kidnapping for ransom and one felony count of attempted extortion by threat. Hernandez faces sentencing enhancements for prior felony convictions for burglary and filing a false claim in 2009 in Riverside, possession and sale of a controlled substance in 2009 in Riverside, possession of a controlled substance in 2014 in Orange County, and not remaining free for more than five years of both prison custody and the commission of the above felony offenses. Continue reading→

At approximately 11:20 a.m. on November 20, 2013, a 14-year-old female was sitting on the front stairs of her residence in the 600 block of Iris Avenue in Corona del Mar, when a green Subaru wagon drove by, The vehicle passed her residence, then reversed its direction of travel and stopped in front of the home. The driver remained inside while the passenger exited the vehicle and approached the female, asking for directions to a nearby fast food restaurant.

When female said that she could not help with directions, the passenger stated that he had a map in the vehicle and encouraged her to return to the vehicle with him. When the female refused, the passenger became persistent. Out of concern for her safety, the female armed herself with a large stick that was nearby. The passenger then returned to the vehicle and told the driver to leave the location. Continue reading→